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Crashing The Net

Dmen, this is something that I put together for the forwards but it is something that all dmen need to be aware of. This is how good effective forwards think and what their mindset is or should be concerning ‘crashing the net’ and scoring goals.During a coaches clinic in the summer, John Riley a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers, presented on this topic and just how important and vital it is in today’s game. This mindset and a willingness to play in the ‘nasty’ areas is something all scouts look for. Some of these concepts were taken directly from John’s presentation. (Assist to Scout Riley)I hope these 9 examples help the forwards get a visual of what it takes.

Example 1-Classic Example of the amount of traffic it takes sometimes to score….

Example 2-Watch the forward drive to the front of the net…..not the side.

Example 3-Division 1 Hockey-Listen to the announcer and watch Minnesota and their mindset.

Example 4- Again, focus on the players going to the front of the net, not the side…..

Example 5- Again to the front of the net……not the side……goalie can’t save what he can’t see…..

Example 6- Again, look at the forward and him getting position and looking for point shot. Not fun but has to be done…..

Example 7-Again, listen to the announcer and how he sums it up…..

Example 8- Watch the front of the net and how the forwards are willing to pay the price……

Example 9- Nothing really needs to be said here, just watch this guy…….

So just to wrap it up, sometimes to score it is nasty, tough, ugly work that has to be done. Everyone wants to score the ‘pretty’ goal but hopefully this points out that the majority of goals are like these examples.Remember at the end of the season they never ask “How?” They just ask “How Many???”